Into the Boondocks
by dangersgirl89
Summary: Delilah  -Alice-  and Todd  -Jasper-  like each other from the first time they see each other. Follow them as they go through anything and everything life throws at them.
1. Travelling

So last night I dreamt a brilliant dream. Or at least I really liked the idea of it. And I hope you do too cuz that's what this is. This isn't a story you can jump right into. You have to travel back. Back to a time where there weren't huge mansions on every street. Back to where the people lived in houses that were built by the man of the family. Back where you didn't have 6 or 7 neighboring families, but maybe one. Back where country families lived out in the woods. Back into the boondocks.  
"Momma, are you sure we have to go?" Delilah asked as her and her momma lead their horses to the trail.  
"Yes, baby, we do. Ever since you pa died we haven't been getting by too well here. We need to find a place where we have neighbors to help us. We're all alone out here." Her momma, Marielle, told her sweetly. Delilah sighed. As Marielle climbed upon her horse, Betsy, Delilah remembered something.  
"I'll be right back, Momma." She said quickly and ran into the old house that looked more like a run-down hut. She ran into the bedroom that her momma and her shared. She carefully counted the floorboards. One, two, three, four, five! She stomped on the fifth board and it popped up. She rushed to get the contents of the secret hiding place. A diary, an old doll, and her pa's old pocket knife. She smiled at the items and shoved them into her shoulder bag. Delilah ran back out of the old house and to her momma and her horse, Nora.  
"Got it. Now let's go." She jumped on Nora and they were off on their trip from Kentucky to Tennessee.  
*Days later*  
It was getting dark and Marielle and Delilah still had no clue where to go. They had been riding the same trail for 3 days now, only stopping for food or sleep. It was almost completely dark out now. They saw a little house, the first one today. They decided to stop and see if the people there maybe knew somewhere they could sleep.  
"I'll go knock on the door, okay, Momma?" Delilah said while climbing off of her horse.  
"Alright but be careful. Remember these people are strangers." Marielle called back. Delilah nodded and knocked on the door. It swung open almost immediately. A man stood there with a shotgun pointed towards her. She gasped.  
"Whatdoya want?" He asked sharply. Delilah was speechless. She saw a boy show up behind him.  
"Calm down, Pa. She can't be more than my age." He said. The man lowered his gun. She felt her momma come up behind her.  
"We've been traveling for a few days now trying to find somewhere to move to. We haven't had any luck so far. Do you know somewhere we could sleep for the night?" Delilah asked, now more confident.  
"Yeah, out there on the ground." He said harshly.  
"Or here. Right, Pa?" The boy said with a smile. The man sighed.  
"I guess so. But just for tonight. You've gotta find somewhere else to stay tomorrow." The man said.  
"Oh, of course. And thank you very, very much." Marielle said. The man moved from the doorway and let them in.  
"I'll go get your bag, Momma." Delilah said and started to move back out the door. "I'll go with you. I'll show you where you can tie the horses up, too." The boy said. Delilah smiled. They walked out the door and closed the door behind them.  
"So how long have you been traveling?" The boy said.  
"Three days." Delilah answered.  
"With just you and your Momma? Wow, you guys are lucky that some cowboys didn't try to... nevermind." He said. Delilah's eyes got wide. He noticed.  
"Hey, don't worry about it. I'll show you a place where you might wanna stay tomorrow. The people who used to live in it moved out a few months ago. You might like it."  
"That would be great. It's really pretty around here. And peaceful." Delilah said. He smiled and thought, 'Just like you.'  
"You know, I didn't catch your name." He said instead.  
"Delilah. What's your's?" She asked.  
"Todd. Todd Matthews. Nice to meet you, Delilah." He said and smiled.  
"You too, Todd." She said. They had been walking the horses uphill when a wooden post came into view. They walked over in silence. He took Nora and Betsy and tied them to the post. As he turned around Delilah realized she had been staring at him. She hurriedly blinked and looked down at her feet. Todd had still seen. He smiled at her and they started to make their way back down the hill. It was completely silent. Delilah was in her own little world. She didn't notice Todd looking at her. Or that she was about to step into a big hole. Todd grabbed her just as she was falling. She clutched to him and he pulled her up.  
"Whoa, now. You gotta be careful. You're in the woods now. There's mole holes everywhere." He told her.  
"Thanks." She said simply. The continued to walk down the hill.  
"When we get back don't listen to my pa. He's moody. He doesn't really mean what he says." Todd said as they were nearing the old house.  
"Okay. Thanks again for letting us stay." She replied.  
"You're very, very welcome." He said as they walked up to the front door of the house.


	2. Change

They walked into the old house, closing the door behind them. Marielle and Todd's father were on separate sides of the room.  
"This is my pa, Chris." Todd told Delilah.  
"Nice to meet you, Chris. I'm Delilah." She said with a polite smile.  
"I'm Mr. Matthews to you." He said and went back to his pan. Delilah's head slowly dropped. Todd gently nudged her. She looked at him and was somehow comforted by his smile. She looked at her Mother.  
"A-and this is my momma, Marielle Baker. Momma, this is Todd." She said quietly. Todd confidently walked over to Marielle and, with a smile, shook her hand gently. Delilah couldn't help but smile at this.  
"Mrs. Baker, it's a real pleasure to have you staying here with us tonight." He said.  
"Why thank you, Todd. And you can call me Marielle." She replied with a smile.  
"Alright, boy. You've made your introductions now go show these girls their rooms so they can get ready for dinner." Mr. Matthews told him. Todd nodded and turned towards a tight hallway. Marielle and Delilah followed after him. He turned towards them and opened the door on his left.  
"Here ya go. This is normally my room but I guess I'll sleep in Pa's room tonight." He said.  
"Thank you, Todd." Marielle said and walked into the room. Delilah followed after her. She secretly wished that she could one day be as confident as her mother. She wished she could wear big dresses and uncomfortable shoes and act like nothing was wrong like her mother. Instead she wore old jeans and tops with boots. Her mother never said anything but Delilah knew she wanted her to wear dresses. She thought she acted too much like a boy. She never fooled with any boys unless she was out climbing trees with or so on. She didn't show any interest in boys. Marielle worried. Delilah was turning 18 next month. She was certainly old enough. After all, Marielle had met Delilah's father when she was 16. They had been sweethearts for 4 years before they had gotten married. But Marielle didn't dare interfere with Delilah's life. After all everyone develops at their own time. She just hoped Delilah's time would come soon.  
For dinner they had potatoes, biscuits, and some sort of meat. Delilah and Marielle ate and then excused themselves. Marielle fell asleep quickly but Delilah was having terrible luck. She couldn't push this feeling of dread away. She could feel that something terrible was about to happen. Or was something bad happening? Had it already happened? She wasn't sure. But she knew that she had to go. She slipped out of bed and tiptoed out of the room. She quietly put on her boots and walked out of the house. She heard a whinny from up the hill. She ran as fast as she could up to the horses. If she had listened at all she would've heard the footsteps behind her. But she didn't. Her focus was on getting to the horses. When she finally arrived at the top of the hill she saw a baby and a momma bear growling at Betsy and Nora. She stopped dead in her tracks. The momma bear turned towards Delilah. She didn't know whether to scream or stay quiet. To run or stay still. She felt a hand on her shoulder she jumped and a little squeak slipped from her mouth.  
"It's Todd. Don't move." He whispered in her ear. She slightly nodded. He slipped around her carefully. "Run."  
"But-"  
"Run, Delilah!" He said sternly. She ran down to the house. She couldn't see anything but she heard him yelling. Trying to scare it off. She heard a final roar. She saw Todd slowly walking down the hill. When he made it down he opened the door to the house, completely disregarding Delilah. She followed him in and closed the door behind them.  
"A-are you okay?" She asked with a shaky voice.  
"Not really." He said and turned around. She saw a huge gash running down his arm.  
"Oh my god." Her eyes were wide.  
"You should go to bed. I'll get my pa to-"  
"I'll wrap it up. You don't have to wake him up." She said. She looked around and saw what she was looking for. She walked over to the bucket of water on the floor. She dipped a finger in it. She poured a bit of it into a small pot. She took it over to the fire hung it up. She walked back over to Todd. She began to lift the sleeve of his shirt. He moved her hand away and ripped the sleeve off. She looked at the wound carefully. She sighed and walked back over to the water. She took it and set it beside of Todd. She grabbed a cloth and dipped it in the hot water.  
"This might hurt." She said apologetically. She pressed the cloth against the wound, "Sorry."  
"It's okay." He said and looked at her. She continued to rinse it out. She took the sleeve he had torn off the shirt and ripped it at the hem. She folded it a few times and then tied it tight around his arm as tight as she could without hurting him. She looked at him and blushed at his stare. He started to lean towards her slowly. His eyes were on hers. She took in a deep breath. Their lips were just about to touch when  
"What do you kids think you're doing?"


End file.
